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informativespeechtopics.docx
informativespeech-outlinetemplate.docx
InformativeSpeechOutlineSampleKelsiStoltenow.pdf
- oralin-textandreferencelistcitations.docx
informativespeechtopics.docx
A List of General Speech Topics
(Source: http://www.informativespeechtopics.info/general-topics.html)
General Speech Topics. Here is a list of general informative speech topics to help you narrow down to a topic that suits you.
People Topics
· The life of an important or influential person in history (e.g. Abraham Lincoln, Elvis, George Washington)
· Record holders for strange, quirky records
· A speech on a key inventor or pioneer (e.g. Alexander Graham Bell, Ben Franklin, Jerry Yang, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc.).
· Famous presidents and their legacies
· Authors and their biographies (e.g. John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemmingway)
· True heroes and their stories (e.g. 9/11 heroes)
History Topics
· Watergate and other famous scandals
· The legacies of a significant political leader (a president such as FDR, etc.)
· Wars and their consequences (e.g. World War II)
· A historical timeline of the Internet or other significant technologies
Places Topics
· A famous landmark and its history (e.g Stonehenge, the Statue of Liberty, the Sphynx).
· Great places to see before you die
· Beautiful places -- best kept secrets
· Romantic hotspots
· The wonders of the world
Origins Topics
· Inventions - how something came to be the way it is now
· The true history of holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter)
· The automobile, airplane, and various other forms of transportation
· The Louisiana Purchase
Things Topics
· How a technology works (e.g. PDAs, Cell phones, the Internet, DVD burners)
· The difference between HDTV and SDTV
· How popular toys (e.g. legos, radio controlled cars, waterguns, yo-yos, etc.) work
Other Cultures Topics
· Ethnic foods (e.g. Vietnamese noodle soup pho, Korean dishes like Bulgogi)
· Foreign sports (e.g. Jai-lai, cricket)
· World religions
· Great lesser-known places to visit in other countries
Myths and Misconceptions Topics
· Commonly held myths debunked (e.g. do toilets flush a different direction in Austrailia?
· How to cure common ailments
· Health related misconceptions
· Urban legends and their reality
Science, Environment, and Health Topics
· Nutrition -- the Food Guide Pyramid
· Special diets (e.g. Atkins, South Beach)
· What is global warming and what can be done?
· The solar system -- planets, stars, etc.
Religion and Faith Topics
· What makes Christianity unique?
· The places and times of the Bible
· What are the central tenets of each faith?
Money and Finances Topics
· What is a 401k plan and how does it work?
· The IRS and Income Taxes
· Stocks and the Stock Market
· How credit cards work
· What is inflation?
informativespeech-outlinetemplate.docx
FORMAL SENTENCE OUTLINE FORMAT
Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course Reference Number
General speech information
Topic: Key statement that describes the topic of your speech
General Purpose: To inform OR To persuade
Specific Purpose: Your specific purpose identifies the information you want to communicate (in an informative speech) or the attitude or behavior you want to change (in a persuasive speech) and to whom.
Thesis: The central idea of your speech.
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Formal outline
I. Introduction
A. Attention Getter: Something that grabs the attention of the audience.
Examples of this: startling statistics, stories, rhetorical questions, quotations, scenarios, etc. This point should be more than one sentence long.
B. Reason to Listen: Why should the audience listen to your speech, make it personal to each of them.
C. Thesis Statement: Exact same statement as above.
D. Credibility Statement:
1. What personally connects you to this topic?
2. What type of research have you done to establish credibility?
E. Preview of Main Points:
1. First, I will describe …
2. Second, I will examine …
3. Third, I will discuss…
II. Evidence for thesis.
A. Statement of the first main point; you should not use a source in this sentence.
1. Idea of development or support for the first main point
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
2. More development or support
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
3. More development if needed
Transition: (Required) Statement of movement that looks back (internal summary) and looks forward (preview).
B. Statement of second main point. Do not use a source in this statement.
1. Idea of development or support for the first main point
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
2. More development or support
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
3. More development if needed
Transition: (Required) Statement of movement that looks back (internal summary) and looks forward (preview).
C. Statement of third main point. Do not use a source in this statement.
1. Idea of development or support for the first main point
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
2. More development or support
a. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc.)
3. More development if needed
III. Conclusion
A. Review of Main Points:
1. Restate your first main point.
2. Restate your second main point.
3. Restate you third main point.
B. Restate Thesis: Exact same as above.
C. Closure: Develop a creative closing that will give the speech
a sense of ending. This point may be more than one sentence. You should refer back to your Attention-Getter.
References
APA VI format; all references need to be sited in APA VI format. See section in Course Pack for further details.
Be sure to make sure that the references are in Alphabetical order.
Clarify with your instructor as to what types of references you may use.
Double-Spaced; all references should be double-spaced and indented.
Five source minimum: You must have at least five sources cited in your outline and listed on your reference page.
Make sure to provide all necessary information in the references.
InformativeSpeechOutlineSampleKelsiStoltenow.pdf
Kelsi Stoltenow
Informative Outline EXAMPLE OF INFORMATIVE SPEECH OUTLINE
Dr. Wendy Papa
CRN: 22130359
Topic: Wine tasting (grape juice will be used for demonstration)
General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: To demonstrate to my audience the three steps to tasting and analyzing a glass of
wine.
Thesis: Wine is properly tasted and best enjoyed in three steps – swirling,
smelling and sipping.
I. Introduction
A. Attention Getter: Wine is a tremendous beverage. It’s amazing because,
unlike anything else we drink, wine is alive. As wine bottles sit in
those tidy store-shelf rows, the sugar, yeast and grape juice inside
of them is constantly at work, forever evolving the wines. For that
reason, Kevin Zraly says in his 2010 book Windows on the World:
A Complete Wine Course, when a bottle is brought home, and
opened with a pop of a cork, it will taste different than it would
have on any other day of its life.
B. Reason to Listen: Wine is the sophisticated person’s drink of choice
the world over, and while most gulp it greedily, greeting each glass
with curiosity and know-how will help make the most of every
drop.
C. Thesis Statement: Wine is properly tasted and best enjoyed in three
steps.
D. Credibility Statement:
1. My mom has been a wine-drinker for years, and taught me all she knows.
2. Since turning 21-years-old I have gone on wine excursions throughout the United
States, honing my tasting skills and devouring all the literature and personal
tutelage I can find.
E. Preview of Main Points:
1. First, I will explain how to swirl a glass of wine.
2. Second, I will describe how to smell a glass of wine.
3. Finally, I will discuss how to correctly taste a glass of wine.
II. Wine is properly tasted and best enjoyed in these three steps – swirling, smelling and
sipping.
A. Wine must be swirled in its glass, as the action releases the wine’s aroma,
or bouquet, as it is called among experienced wine tasters.
1. Swirling the wine allows oxygen to mix with the wine, which
releases the bouquet, says Zraly, as previously cited.
2. The type of wine you are drinking dictates how you swirl.
a. No matter the wine type you are tasting, always begin with a glass that is
no more than two-thirds full to prevent spilling and to provide yourself
ample swirling room.
b. White wine is typically served chilled, so to avoid warming it while
swirling, place one hand at the bottom of the glass and proceed to make
small, quick circles on a flat surface.
c. Red wine is typically served at room temperature, so you can place one
hand on any part of the glass to swirl it.
i. Placing one hand on the body of the glass gives you the best
control, allowing you to swirl red wine with small, quick circles.
ii. Red wine, Zraly says, should be swirled for approximately 15 to 20
seconds, while white wine needs only 10 seconds (2010).
3. While swirling, you should also determine the wine’s age and grape variety by
tipping the glass on its side and examining the wine’s color.
a. In his 1994 book Wines of Italy, Burton Anderson explains that white
wines begin their lives emitting a light yellow color, and as they age turn
gold, and eventually brown.
b. Red wines, Anderson says, start with a purple hue, turn red, and eventually
adopt a maroon or brown color.
c. Popular grape varieties can be recognized by the color of wine they
produce.
i. For example, the popular white wine Riesling is typically a light,
almost translucent, yellow, while Chardonnay, the darkest white
wine, is often marigold or light brown.
ii. Pinot Noir, a middle-of-the-road red-wine grape, is often dons a
straightforward shade of red.
Transition: Now that I talked about how to swirl a glass of wine and release its bouquet, I will
explain how to properly smell the wine.
B. Smelling a glass of wine is the most important step in the process of wine tasting, as
doing so tells you what flavors to expect before placing it in your mouth.
1. According to the National Science Teachers Association article Got Smell?
(2010), our sense of smell and sense of taste are wired to work as one, so when
we do not smell, like when we have colds, we cannot taste either.
a. Additionally, as stated in his article The Human Sense of Smell (2004),
Gordon M. Shepherd recently discovered that humans smell just as well or
better than all other mammals, including dogs.
b. Zraly mentions that humans can detect only four tastes — salty, sweet,
sour and bitter — but are capable of identifying more than 2,000 smells,
so smelling, not tasting, is the key step to fully enjoying a glass of wine
(2010).
2. To smell wine properly and pick up on those scents, directly after swirling place
your nose inside the wine glass and inhale deeply for three to five seconds.
a. Repeat this process at least two additional times.
b. If you are unable to detect any vivid aroma, swirl the wine again.
3. While smelling, try to identify scents and share them with fellow tasters.
a. Many white wines may smell like grapefruit, green apple, pineapple, nuts,
butter, vanilla or even marshmallows.
b. Common red wine scents include oak, berry, chocolate, coffee, smoke,
pepper and cheese.
c. In their article Psychology of Novice and Expert Wine Talk (1990), Gregg
Eric and Arn Solomon explain that it takes practice to accurately identify
the scents in a wine’s bouquet, but once learned, the ability will build on
itself.
i. Eric and Solomon point out that humans retain 70 percent of the
information we gather from our sense of smell, so with time wine
tasters will be able to remember and distinguish among hundreds
of wine aromas (1990).
ii. Having control over one’s aroma vocabulary is what separates
rookie wine tasters from experts.
Transition: Now that we have learned the importance of smelling a glass of wine and how to do it
properly, I will detail how a glass of wine should be tasted.
C. Tasting, the final step of exploring a glass of wine, should be done slowly and
thoughtfully.
1. To taste a glass of wine, put the glass to your mouth and take a sizable sip.
a. Hold the wine in your mouth for five to eight seconds before swallowing,
allowing it wash over every part of your tongue.
b. Because smelling the wine already gave you a solid sense of what flavors
the wine has, focus now on the tactile sensations you are experiencing in
your mouth.
c. Richard Gawel, author of A Mouth-feel Wheel (2000), says the following
are the most common sensations experienced while tasting wine: soft,
supple, sappy, grippy, drying, smooth and sugary.
d. The darker the wine, the more apparent the sensations will be.
2. A tell-tale sign of a quality wine is how long its taste lingers after you have
swallowed; the longer it lingers the better it is.
a. Ultimately, the only person who can declare a wine good or not is the
taster.
i. If you do not like green apple, you will not like Chardonnay.
ii. If you are not into smoky flavors, you won’t like Pinot Noir.
b. Most novice tasters favor sweet wines like Riesling and eventually acquire
a taste for dry or bitter wines.
III. Conclusion
A. Review of Main Points:
1. Today I first discussed how to swirl a glass of wine.
2. Second, I explained how to smell a glass of wine.
3. Finally, I talked about tasting a glass of wine.
B. Restate Thesis: Wine is properly tasted and best enjoyed in these three
steps — swirling, smelling and sipping.
C. Closure: If you greet each glass with patience and curiosity it will
tell you the story of its life; and like any good storyteller, it
will entertain you until the last drop.
References
Anderson, B. (1994). Wines of Italy. New York, New York: Italian Institute for Foreign Trade.
Eric, G., & Solomon, A. (1990). Psychology of Novice and Expert Wine Talk. The American
Journal of Psychology, 103(4), 495-517.
Gawel, R., Oberholster, A., & Francis L. (2000). A ‘Mouth-feel Wheel’: Terminology for
Communicating the mouth-feel characteristics of wine. Australian Journal of Grape &
Wine Research, 6, 203-207. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0238.2000.tb00180.x
Got Smell? Retrieved from http://www.nsta.org/publications/article
Shepherd, G. M., (2004). The Human Sense of Smell: Are We Better Than We Think? PLoS
Biology, 2, 572-575. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020146
Zraly, K. (2010). Windows on the World: A Complete Wine Course. New York, New York:
Sterling Publishing.